The base, about 25km from the Pakistan border, is one of four command centres in the restive Himalayan region and home to more than 1,000 officers and their families. Three security officials were also wounded during the assault.

India said that after the Uri attack in September it launched "surgical strikes" on insurgent bases across the heavily militarised de-facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Kashmir, a claim Islamabad vehemently denied.

Tuesday's attack came as Pakistan's hugely popular military chief General Raheel Sharif handed over the reins to his successor Qamar Javed Bajwawith a warning to India not to mistake his country's "restraint" for weakness.

It also comes days before a scheduled visit to India by Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's foreign affairs adviser, for a weekend conference on Afghanistan.

"It [the attack] clearly suggests there is an attempt by certain groups to sabotage the apparent peace outreach by Pakistan's government," Mohan Guruswamy, head of the Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank in New Delhi, said.

Kashmir conflict

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947, but is claimed in full by both.

Attacks against Indian security forces have increased in recent months, although raids in the Hindu-majority Jammu area of the state are less common.

Indian and Pakistani cross-border firing along the heavily militarised LoC has intensified as tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours has risen.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting armed groups based on its side of the border who cross over to launch attacks. Pakistan denies that, accusing India of abusing the rights of Muslim Kashmiris opposed to Indian rule.

Kashmir has been gripped by protests since security forces killed a popular separatist leader in July. A crackdown in response to the protests has paralysed much of the region.